KQED's Forum

On this November’s ballot, voters will decide on whether to legalize sports betting and whether to tax the rich to subsidize electric cars. Proposition 26 would legalize sports betting in Indian casinos and horse tracks and is opposed by gaming businesses. Proposition 27 would allow online betting and is generally opposed by gaming tribes. Together supporters and opponents of the two propositions have spent over $500 million on their campaigns, and polls predict that both will fail. Proposition 30 proposes a tax on personal income over two million dollars with 80% of the proceeds going to subsidize electric cars and charging stations and the remaining going to wildfire safety. We’ll talk about the three measures with our KQED Politics team and take your questions.

Guests:

Guy Marzorati, reporter and producer, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk

Kevin Stark, Reporter, KQED Science

Maanvi Singh, West Coast reporter, Guardian

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The pandemic shutdowns forced millions of small businesses across the country to close up shop or barely hang on. Journalist Gary Rivlin spent months following a group of small business owners struggling to survive the pandemic in his new book, “Saving Main Street: Small Business in the Time of COVID-19.” His book chronicles the personal and financial risks the owners had to take amid a contentious presidential election, confusing government aid programs and contradictory safety guidelines. Rivlin joins us to talk about how the pandemic forever changed how small businesses operate and how they are faring now.

Guests:

Gary Rivlin, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author, "Saving Main Street Small Business in the Tine of COVID-19"

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On March 16, 2021, eight people were killed by a gunman in Atlanta, GA — the majority of whom were Asian women. The murders galvanized a political and social movement, according to Titi Yu, director of the new PBS documentary “Rising Against Asian Hate: One Day in March.” We’ll hear from family members of victims of anti-Asian violence about their attempts to bring justice to their loved ones, and the difficulties advocates and legislators face in attempting to prosecute acts of anti-Asian violence as hate crimes.

Guests:

Robert Peterson, son of Yong Ae Yue, who was killed in the Atlanta spa shootings on March 16, 2021

Titi Yu, director, "Rising Against Asian Hate"

Monthanus Ratanapakdee, daughter of Vicha Ratanapakdee who was fatally assaulted in San Francisco on January 28, 2021

Charles Jung, executive director, California Asian Pacific American Bar Association (Cal-APABA)

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San Jose voters will decide on several key races this election including selecting the mayor, several city council members and the county sheriff. In the mayoral race, county supervisor Cindy Chavez and city council member Matt Mahan are competing to lead the nation’s 10th largest city. At the county level, voters will select a replacement for Sheriff Laurie Smith, who is not running for reelection amid grand jury allegations of misconduct and an ongoing investigation into cases of abuse at county jails. As part of KQED’s politics team’s takeover of Forum this week, we’ll talk about the candidates and the issues dominating the races – including housing, homelessness and crime – and we’ll take your election questions.

Guests:

Garrick Percival, professor and department chair, Department of Political Science, San Jose State University

Guy Marzorati, reporter and producer, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk

Alex Shoor, executive director and co-founder, Catalyze SV, a nonprofit focused on creating sustainable, equitable, and vibrant places for people in Silicon Valley

Trân Nguyễn, investigative reporter, San Jose Spotlight, and Report For America Corps Member

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The outcomes of a number of competitive races up and down the state could determine which party controls the House of Representatives come January. We’ll talk about the congressional races in California to keep an eye on, and we’ll break down the statewide races on your ballot, from governor to controller to attorney general.

Guests:

Scott Shafer, senior editor for KQED’s California Politics and Government desk and co-host of Political Breakdown

Guy Marzorati, reporter and producer, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk

Seema Mehta, politics reporter, Los Angeles Times

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Ballots have landed in mailboxes across California. Now comes the hard part: figuring out what all the ballot measures mean. Senior editor Scott Shafer and the rest of KQED’s politics team has youcovered. We’ll talk about the most interesting items on Bay Area ballots, including mayoral and DA races, a slew of local housing measures and a state proposition that taxes the rich to tackle climate change. We’re here to answer your ballot questions.

Guests:

Guy Marzorati, reporter and producer, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk.

Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED - Co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown show.

Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Reporter/Producer covering politics, KQED News.

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As an 11-year old kid growing up in the L.A. suburbs, writer Jonathan Abrams managed to wheedle a Tupac Shakur cassette from a sympathetic Circuit City employee. When his mom discovered the tape with its parental advisory sticker, she made him return it, but that didn’t deter Abrams’ love for hip-hop. In his new oral history of hip-hop “The Come Up,” Abrams goes back to the genre’s roots and traces its iterations, innovations, and impact on not just music, but global culture. We’ll talk to Abrams and hear from you, who’s your go to hip-hop artist and what’s on your essential hip-hop playlist?

Guests:

Jonathan Abrams, "The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop," Abrams is a staff writer for the New York Times and author of "All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of the Wire" and "Boys Among Men.

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Cal Berkeley alum Sheng Wang never expected himself to pursue a career in comedy. But after twenty years as a comedian, practicing his material at San Francisco venues, his hour-long Netflix special “Sweet and Juicy” has propelled him into the spotlight. We’ll talk with Sheng about the road to his new found fame and we’ll check in with local comedians about the Bay Area comedy scene.

Guests:

Sheng Wang, comedian, writer and actor.

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“Our lives would have been impossible without Ronald Reagan,” says Patty Rodriguez in the opening episode of the podcast series, Out of the Shadows: Children of 86. Rodriguez and co-host Erick Galindo created the series to explore the complicated legacy of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. The act, which provided amnesty and a path to legal status to millions of undocumented residents, came about because of an unlikely ally: then-President Reagan. We’ll talk about the history of the 1986 law, the millions of lives it changed and the families it brought out of the shadows.

Guests:

Erick Galindo, journalist, writer, podcast creator, television showrunner, producer and co-host, Out of the Shadows: Children of 86 podcast.

Ana Raquel Minian Andjel, associate professor of History, Stanford University; author, "Undocumented Lives: The Untold Story of Mexican Migration."

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During a raucous L.A. city council meeting yesterday, a crowd of demonstrators demanded the resignations of Nury Martinez, Kevin DeLeón, and Gil Cedillo, three council members who had been caught on tape making racist and derogatory comments about Blacks, Jews, Central Americans, and Armenians, among others. Amidst the shouting, the one moment of quiet came as council member Michael Bonin tearfully shared his outrage over racist remarks made by Martinez, the council’s Latina president, about Bonin's adopted Black son, who Martinez, using a racist slur, called a monkey in need of a “beatdown." Though Martinez resigned from her position as council president, none of the three members has offered to resign from the council. We’ll talk to political analysts about the fallout and the racial and political fault lines revealed by this scandal.

Guests:

Erika D. Smith, columnist, Los Angeles Times

Saul Gonzalez, co-host, The California Report at KQED

Gustavo Arellano, columnist, Los Angeles Times

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